However, she said this is not the final decision on the issue. That will come by May 7, following an investigation into a formal challenge of Conyers' signatures.

If he doesn't get on the ballot, Conyers will have to run as a write-in candidate for his 26th term. The 84-year-old Detroit Democrat is coming up on 50 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

He needed 1,000 valid voter signatures to get his name on the ballot.

On Wednesday, one of the Deputy Clerks, who did not want to appear on camera, told Local 4 Conyers qualified with 1,193 total signatures. Conyers put out a statement saying the Clerk's Office verified his petitions.

"I am pleased that the County Clerk has determined that there are a sufficient number of signatures to allow my name to appear on the ballot in the upcoming August 5th primary election. I look forward to a full and robust campaign in the primary and general elections," Conyers' statement reads.

However, Conyers' statement was premature as Garrett now says Conyers does not appear to have enough valid signatures on his nominating petitions.

At issue are two of Conyers' petition gatherers who apparently were not registered voters, as required by Michigan law, when they canvassed voters for signatures. That means any signatures they collected would be declared invalid and, apparently, that drops the 50-year Congressional veteran below the petition threshold to appear on the ballot.

Garrett reportedly had been on vacation this week. Her comments Friday to Local 4 are the first time Garrett has personally spoken about the controversy.

Gallery

Successful write-in candidates

Successful write-in candidates

In September 1954, incumbent U.S. Senator Burnet R. Maybank died while running unopposed for re-election. A replacement candidate from a rival faction of the Democratic Party was selected by party leaders so Thurmond, the former governor and 1948 States Rights Party presidential candidate, ran as a write-in and served in the Senate until 2003.

Packard narrowly lost a 1982 GOP Congressional primary in California, but was persuaded to run as an independent write-in after the Republican nominee's character became an issue. Packard won the general election and served until 2001 as a Republican.

As Washington DC's CFO during the Control Board era, Williams was widely credited for turning around the nation's capital. He was elected mayor in 1998. Four years later, a firm hired to collect his nominating petitions failed to gather enough valid signatures. Williams won re-election anyway, running as a write-in.

Not to be confused with the Charlie Wilson made famous by Tom Hanks movie, Ohio Democrat Charlie Wilson was four signatures short of qualifying for the 2006 primary ballot so he ran as a write-in and won, serving two terms in Congress.

Incumbent Senator Lise Murkowski was defeated in the 2010 GOP primary by tea party insurgent Joe Miller. Murkowski elected to continue running for re-election as an independent write-in, defeating both Miller and Democratic candidate Scott McAdams. She continues to serve as a Republican.

In 2012, Kent County state representative Roy Schmidt switched parties just before the election day filing deadline and attempted to set-up a paper tiger opponent as his Democratic opponent. So Democratic regulars recruited Brinks to run as a write-in.

When a judge ruled that Mike Duggan turned in his nominating petitions too early based on his length of residency in Detroit, he was thrown off the ballot. Duggan initially withdrew from the race but changed his mind and ran as a write-in. Even without his name on the ballot, the former Wayne County Prosecutor won a majority of votes in the crowded primary and cruised to an easy win over Benny Napoleon last November.

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